GovernmentExecutive.com

Overall employee satisfaction across government has changed little since 2005, but the gap between the best and worst agencies is growing, according to an assessment released Thursday.

Governmentwide employee satisfaction has decreased 0.4 percent since 2005, according to the 2007 Best Places to Work rankings issued by the Partnership for Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. Among the 55 agencies included in both the 2005 and 2007 rankings, more than twice as many declined in satisfaction over the two years than improved.

Since 2005, the gap between the first and last ranked agencies increased by 19 percent. And among the 26 agencies that have participated in all of the rankings since 2003, the spread has increased by 83 percent.

"The best are getting better, and the worst are getting worse," said Max Stier, president of the partnership. "That's a problem ... and it's something we obviously need to focus a great deal of attention on."

The rankings are based on the Office of Personnel Management's 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey. The organizations graded agencies on a number of qualities, as perceived by the 221,000 federal employees who completed the OPM survey. Those dimensions include leadership, teamwork and use of skills, family-friendly culture, strategic management and support for diversity.

The top five large federal agencies were the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Government Accountability Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, NASA and the Justice Department.

For small agencies, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Science Foundation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation held the top five spots.

The most improved large agency this year was the Social Security Administration, which had a 9.7 percent increase in employee satisfaction and placed 7th in the large agency rankings. Among the small agencies, the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Export-Import Back of the United States both posted improvements of more than 17 percent.

The survey also found that women are slightly more satisfied than men, and employees under the age of 40 have higher satisfaction scores than those 40 and older.

"Not only do the ... rankings provide federal managers and government leaders with a road map for improving employee engagement and commitment, the rankings also raise red flags for areas of concern," Stier said.

The results indicate that one agency of particular concern is the Homeland Security Department, which came in 29th out of the 30 large agencies included. (The Small Business Administration finished last.) DHS also was the lowest-ranked agency in eight out of 10 workplace categories, including employee skills and mission match, leadership, work-life balance, teamwork and pay and benefits.

At a House subcommittee hearing Thursday, DHS Chief Human Capital Officer Marta Perez attributed many of the department's troubles to the fact that it is still young. She pointed to a review of DHS that found major mergers take about five to seven years to be successful. She added that the department is in a much better position now than it was when OPM's survey was conducted in 2006, largely because it has since implemented new training programs for managers.

But National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley called the Best Places rankings another "wake-up call" to DHS. "The considerable assets and dedication these employees bring to their jobs should be put to work in the service of our country," she said, "not treated as if they were irrelevant or counterproductive to the agency's mission."

COMMENTS

• I can tell you first hand that the previous 4 comments are putting the news out there very gingerly so to speak. DHS especially Investigations along with Detention has to be worst place in the world to work. There is a wrath on both sides of the isle that doesn't quit. You are in or you are out. They don't want qualified people at the top they promote people as SAC's that don't even know why they are selected. The go unpunished for never showing up on the job...which is very common. This entire agency needs an overhaul as I don't believe it will ever classified as a good agency. It is an animal all unto itself. Every person I know including myself left as soon as possible because the trench is to deep to try and dig out of. The Directors don't want to hear one word of dissension in the troops and if they do, they certainly will find a way to get you out of the system. Been there, done that, left it and can't recommend anyone go there to work.....and I'm being kind.... Sojourner Posted May 14, 2008 7:18 AM
• I guess a news flash is in order; why is DHS at or near the bottom of the list? Could it be bad selection of leaders and managers? As a business management major in college, the first thing we learned was the difference between "leaders and managers"; leaders lead and motivate people, managers "manage things, things are not people! I truly believe that individuals either have the necessary skills to lead and motivate people or they don't! Unfortunately, there are only a certain amount of "training" that will change the methodology of how some individual communicate with their workforce and often their attempts fail because they attend the leadership training because they are required; they have fufilled the training requirement and then it is business as usual and their training has fallen by the waysidel! DHS/ICE-OI from my observations and experience is an environment in whic one is not allowed to fail!therefore, don't rock the boat, don't express concerns that are negative and don't ask questions or disagree with the supervisor! there is always the fear of retaliation; this does not make an environment to motivate the workforce! We as an organization are top heavy with leaders/managers who are not conducive to change and learn from mistakes. GovExec.com reader Posted April 26, 2007 9:15 AM
• The biggest problem I see at DHS ICE in the Office of Investigations is with the hostility displayed by upper management. Any bad news or dissention will bring the wrath of those at the top. No one is allowed to voice a different point of view from the person at the top, be it at Hdqs or at the SAC level. If mistakes happen, as they are bound to happen, someone in the trenches is sure to lose their heads. I've seen instances of premptive strikes. Let's dicipline someone over a minor matter, just in case headquarters hears about it. ASACs and SACs,as well as Hdqs personnel are micromanaging casework. Most experienced agents have learned the hard way that no good work will go unpunished. So just keep you head down and don't take chances. There is a mass exodus from this agency, transfers to other agencies and early retirements are up. I hope there is a way to change this environment, but I fear we have many more years of inept management to face before there is any improvement. GovExec.com reader Posted April 21, 2007 9:44 AM